#10Thankful – Sharks and Such
I have to be totally honest here.
I do not like writing my #10Thankful post on a Sunday evening. And yet, here I am again doing just that. *sigh* So while I am very thankful for so many things, I’m feeling a bit petulant about the whole thing because, well, I would much rather have finished this two days ago.
So let’s get to it.
I am thankful once again for time spent around the table with family and friends.
On that subject, I am thankful that we have enough to eat. I am painfully aware that so many people do not.
I am so happy that our CSA season is in full swing and we are enjoying the bounty from our local organic farm. The beautiful fruits and vegetables we receive each week have provided inspiration for meals such as this stunner – a sugar snap pea and penne pasta dish with a side salad of fresh field greens. Fast, simple, fresh, and delicious.
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Speaking of the kitchen, I have focused some energy there this week. One of my projects was to install a long-desired Spicy Shelf in the spice cabinet. What a difference this little gizmo has made! I wonder if Sarah can spot the item she sent me as a thoughtful gift a while back?
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The Hub ordered some replacement wheel sets for our dishwasher and installed them this week. That’s a task we put off far too long. So now that job can get checked off the project list, too.
![20160622_134951[1]](http://www.themeaningofme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20160622_1349511.jpg)
Today marks the start of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, which we thoroughly enjoy around here. We watched some shark shows today and had plenty of friends to keep us company! I am thankful for things that our family enjoys doing together – hiking, reading, games, Shark Week…it doesn’t really matter what the endeavor. I just love that we love spending time together and pray it will always be so.
![20160626_225451[1]](http://www.themeaningofme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20160626_2254511.jpg)
I am thankful for my Hub. I am blessed to be married to my best friend and to have the most wonderful father for our daughter. He is good and kind and patient. He works hard, loves well, and makes Zilla and I both feel safe, beautiful, loved, and appreciated. And he makes a wicked good cup of coffee, too.
I am thankful for a sustained weight loss thanks to the support and encouragement of Clark and the rest of the Graviteers. As a result of that happy loss, I’ve rediscovered a pile of things in the closet that I can wear again. I’ll take it!
As much as I’ve always said I hate summer, I’m happy to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this one so far. Yes, it’s been pretty hot a few days, but I find myself seeing the beauty rather than the irritation. I am enjoying a slower pace and abundant time with Zilla. We do find ourselves needing some quiet time to ourselves each day, but I’m glad that we recognize and respect that. I think we are all enjoying the delicious feeling of well-rested that only the first week of summer break can bring. I’m thankful for long days and the freedom to do things like stay up late to watch movies or look at the stars, to sleep in a bit and snuggle under the covers a bit longer, to go barefoot and take life just as it comes.
So maybe a Sunday night TToT isn’t so bad. It just is. We’re having a wonderful time and that’s all that matters.
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Your turn – what are you thankful for this week? How have you been spending your summer days and nights? You know the drill – share ’em or link ’em! Have a wonderful week!
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18 Comments
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I love the long, lazy days of summer, even with the heat (gotta have A/C), but this month has been very hectic and I haven’t been able to get the feeling you describe so well in your last paragraph. What’s on your list for summer reading? I’m enjoying an author I hadn’t read before, Chris Bohjalian. Love his style and imagery and his fiction.
I think the real question, Val, is what’s NOT on my list to read? 😀 I’ve already put away two novels – Girl on the Train and Behind Closed Doors. I have two more in the queue that I promised to read and review, but I need to read some nonfiction first. I’m still working on my second read of Susan Cain’s Quiet, which is fantastic. I just picked up a book titled Great American Speeches from the library. I’ve read most of what’s in it, but it’s a great one for the week leading up to Independence Day! I’m a sucker for that stuff.
I picked up Anne Rice’s book Called Out of Darkness about her spiritual journey and the first two of her Christ the Lord series to read. After those, it is my plan to re-read all of her works and consider how her spiritual journey is reflected in them. I think that will be fascinating! So I guess my Rice project is my big summer read endeavor.
I’m also doing some reading on Executive Function and ADHD to help Zilla with some coaching here at home.
Haven’t heard of Chris Bohjalian before – will have to take a peek. Happy reading! Hope you hit the lazy day groove soon!
I love fresh food. I have a pepper in my fridge right now that is calling to me.
🙂
Glad Zilla is on summer vacation now and you guys can take it easy for a few months. Looking at the stars, time with friends, and sleeping in all sound like wonderful ways to make the most of the time you have in front of you.
I don’t have Discovery, but I am always in for a good marine life program.
Hey…what did Zilla end up thinking about Lord of the Rings from the other night?
Zilla loved Lord of the Rings, Kerry! We knew she would. She’s anxious to see the rest of the films and read Tolkien’s books.
Fresh produce is still a couple of weeks away for me, but I am enjoying the summer too. I can remember dreading it every year when the boys were younger, but really those few weeks go by so fast.
I’ve always kind of hated summer because I don’t like heat and I definitely don’t like bugs. But I’m finding myself much less bothered by the heat this year for some reason (and it’s plenty hot). Maybe it’s a mindset. No idea. The bugs though? Yeah, you can keep those! Ugh! It does go by much too fast and this year we’re really focusing on living more and being obligated to less, if that makes sense.
I’m in the middle of winter here (S.Africa) but the weather vacillates between comfortable and too cold. I much prefer winter to summer. You can always put on one more article of clothing, but there’s a limit to what you can take off!
I always say that, Shirley! So true! 😀 Thanks for reading!
Ohhhh your long, lazy, barefoot summer days sound AMAZING! I hope so much that we GET a summer this year. It seems to have all degenerated back into autumn with nary a nod to the sun or warmth or any of that good stuff.
I love that you all spend so much time and fun doing shark week together as a family 🙂 I always loved sharks and had books on them from the school book fair when I was a kid. They’re incredible creatures.
I’m glad you talked yourself round to the idea of your Sunday night TToT 🙂 I like it (and the pasta looks YUMMY!)
I do hope you get a summer because I know you are not a fan of the cold and damp at all.
We love Shark Week here and take it very seriously. 😀 Zilla loves sharks and the things she knows about them from READING, of course, are just amazing. She has tons of shark books and I suspect you and she could chat a bit about sharks. Maybe we should do that!
I’m glad I talked myself into it, too, because I was totally going to bail out. But I didn’t want to do that. The pasta was great and easily veganized – I’ll send it to you.
Heheh as you’re finding, I’m a difficult vegan! But thanks for the offer.
I think Zilla and I could definitely talk for a while about sharks. I think they’re amazing, and they seem so optimised for their environments. My favourites are the blue shark because of how it looks, and the wobbegong for its name, and the whale shark for its personality.
Oh yeah, you could definitely talk sharks. Sounds just like her.
Congratulations on your weight loss! It is nice to have the team effort of the gravity challenge. I’m a bit frustrated with my scale today, but the overall trend the past year has been good. I can only hope that the scale starts reversing again soon.
I am also frustrated with the scale today, Kristi, but I like the fact that the gravity challenge has me paying closer attention and I can tell you very likely why I don’t like it today. And then I know what to do to (hopefully) adjust. Here’s hoping both of our scales move in the downward direction again!
Oh don’t you love your CSA basket of fresh veggies and fruit! I’m thankful for that. It’s so nice to open the refrigerator and have so much produce to choose from. And I don’t have to schlep to the grocery store.
That’s exactly how I feel, Lori. I love looking in the fridge and saying, “let’s pick dinner based on what I have here” so much better than having to decide and THEN shop for what I need. I find it makes me creative and we try lots of new things. And YES to no grocery store schlep!
Think my favorite one here was the time around the table with people you love. Been logging some of that myself this summer. Love it!
Some of the best times ever, May, not just lately but throughout my life.